God's Power Strengthens - Ephesians 3:14-21

If you and I believe in the power of prayer we must realize that we have access to God’s power through our prayer life. I sometimes I feel sad to say that I believe in the power of prayer and then fail to put it into practice to the extent that it stands as proof of my faith. A sincere prayer to our Savior is much like having a conversation with our friends and family in this life that we love the most. Most of us neglect to pray without ceasing, even though we are ordered to do so by most of the writers of the Gospel’s Good News. No matter where we are or what our condition, it is imperative that we maintain a constant verbal conversation with the Lord of our life. Paul was in prison when he instructed the Ephesians to place a high priority on their daily prayer life. He let us know that our intercessory prayers have the greatest priority. Then he proved his belief by going to his knees in prayer for his fellow Christian friends in Ephesus.

In verse 14 Paul said, “It is for this cause that I bow my knees in prayer before the Father…that according to his wealth in glory, he may grant to you to be strengthened in the inner man, so that Christ through faith may take up his permanent residence in your hearts.” In this third chapter Paul tells the church that God has revealed a great mystery to him; the mystery was that both the Jews and Gentiles have been united as one in the body of Christ and that Paul has been called to give them this message. Then he said that it is for this reason—or for this cause that I pray for you to receive the power of God so you can mature spiritually and understand the depth of Christ’s love for you.

There has been some misunderstanding regarding the word mystery as Paul uses it here. It does not mean that this mystery is mysterious or puzzling. It is not like some trick where a magician cuts a body in half and then restores it right before our eyes and we cannot understand how it is done. This word mystery is a technical term that refers to a condition that has always existed but has not previously been made known. God had always intended that both the Jews and the Gentiles were to accept him as their heavenly Farther. This was not made clear throughout the old dispensation and the teachings of the Old Testament. Christ has now made it known to Paul and directed him to teach both Jew and Gentile that they may now understand.

Many have told me that they just cannot pray in public. We do not have to pray in public because God is the object of our prayers and he is here with us, and the chief listener. However, I think that inability to pray in public indicates a weakness in a Christian’s life that needs attention. Charles Hadden Spurgeon said, “We cannot all argue, but we can all pray; we cannot all be leaders, but we can all be pleaders; we cannot all be mighty in rhetoric, but we can all be prevalent in prayer. I would sooner see you eloquent with God than with men.” Just remember that eloquence is not required. One of the most eloquent of prayers is very simple in words—the words are: “Dear God, I am a sinner and lost, please hear my prayer and save my soul.” Here is a very simple example of an intercessory prayer: “Dear God, my child is very ill; please hear my plea asking you to heal him.” Pray your prayer In Christ’s name and expect His will to be done.

Paul says that his mission included more than defining the mystery. He had to show all men alike exactly how God planned and carried out this plan from the beginning explained to the Jews in the Old Testament reaching back to the time of creation. The mystery was not a recent addition to God’s salvation plan but it is just a recent revelation to all the people.

In verse 14, Paul returns to his opening phrase of bowing his knees in prayer. The kneeling process represents humility and reverent worship of God in contrast to the common practice of standing to pray. The kneeling posture in prayer is directed to the Father in heaven—the father of all fathers. His prayer made four requests. The first was to plead for inner spiritual strength of the Christian. Some modern teachers say this is for self-discipline or ‘the power of positive thinking,’ mental renewing or self-talk, or turning a new leaf in you life—but it must mean more than this. This kind of prayer is a fundamental work of God from his spirit to our spirit.

The second request in Paul’s prayer is for deep faith. He did not mean for salvation faith. Why? Because he is writing to Christians who already have that deep faith of salvation. This is a personal revelation of Christ being at home daily in the heart of a Christian. This faith maintains the security of the one who already has a believer’s faith.

The third element of successful prayer is love. We have learned elsewhere that faith, hope and love are all important, but the greatest of these is love. To be where God approves of your action or reaction you must have love in your heart for God and others. This love can come from only one place—and that is the divine love of God, who loved so much that he gave his Son.

The last request is a prayer for God’s fullness. If one is filled with God’s fullness he is filled with the Holly Spirit, which is given by God—only to those who pray for the indwelling of the Holly Spirit on a daily basis. Paul prayed this four pronged prayer for the Ephesians and all Christians who followed them…to this day. In a nut shell this means that spiritually mature believers strengthened by the Holy Spirit comprehend God’s love and are filled with the fullness of God.

The last two verses in our lesson is Paul’s Doxology for this study. He has thanked God for his power to pray and live for Him, and now he praises God for all that He means to us. He is our sovereign God and can do whatsoever he will. This means that the greatest of our prayers or the weakest can be answered according to the will of God. Paul says God is omnipotent—he has all power over everything and manifested it when he created the world; again when he revealed the mystery and made it know to us. We now see His glory and know that all that he has done was to bring Him glory.

Today, as we watch God as he works through Christ in our church, we must respond in praise and worship, always giving God the glory. I hope that I am wrong. I am afraid that I am too close to being right. But I believe that my local church, where I worship condones a prayer life that needs to be strengthened.

We have a special prayer room, set aside and equipped for use in intercessory prayer time. The room is open to prayer partners seven twenty four and even adorned with a beautiful hand carved special door inviting all who will to participate. A calendar is provided which invites us to keep someone on our knees continuously. It just appears to me that the room is empty far too much. With the number of Christian members that attend the church regularly, there should be someone there in prayer most of the time. God forgive me for my neglect. I know many of the reasons given for our neglect, because I have used many of them personally. We honestly think that we are too busy serving God in so many other profitable ways. Are we?